Magnesium Shortage

by Sircus - Mark

Ongoing drug shortages are now being classified as a "national
crisis" affecting the care and safety of severely ill patients.[1] For quite
some time we have been reading about the shortages of various drugs in the medical
industry, and that includes magnesium sulfate. Another article this week is
stating that the shortage persists, and it seems to be affecting all types of
drugs, mainly because the pharmaceutical industry is not making acceptable profit
from them. The federal government may also be buying up large inventories for
their emergency programs and underground bases, who knows?

"Manufacturers get to a point where making these drugs are not profitable,
so they close down the production line and dedicate it to brand-name drugs that
have higher profits," said Charles Arrison, director of pharmacy at the East
Pennsboro Township hospital. "On top of that, the FDA has been tougher on inspections
of manufacturing plants, closing down plants and production lines."[2]

Shortages of magnesium are being reported and the prices are reflecting this.
Reliance Wholesale Inc. was selling magnesium sulfate, used to treat/control
seizures in pregnant women, for more than $400 for 25 vials. The drug typically
sells for $9 for 25 vials.

My book Magnesium, The Ultimate Heart Medicine teaches cardiologists
that magnesium is their premier medicine. Magnesium is nutritional oil to the
heart; it lubricates and facilitates its function and is nothing short of a
miracle medicine for cardiologists. Sadly, contemporary medicine's place in
history has been tarnished by their neglect of the importance of magnesium,
for it is absolutely essential for the proper functioning of the heart.

Magnesium's role in preventing heart disease and strokes is accepted yet cardiologists
have not gotten up to speed with its use. Magnesium was first shown to be of
value in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias in 1935 and since then there have
been numerous double-blind studies showing magnesium to be of benefit for many
types of arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation, ventricular premature contractions,
ventricular tachycardia, and severe ventricular arrhythmias. Magnesium supplementation
has also been shown to be helpful in angina due either to a spasm of the coronary
artery or atherosclerosis. And yet cardiologists still do not use it to a meaningful
degree in their protocols.

Magnesium deficiency plays a critical role in the development of cardiovascular
disease; magnesium is needed within the cells for the production of energy,
which is mission critical for our heart muscles.[3] "Mg2+ is critical for all
of the energetics of the cells because it is absolutely required that Mg2+ be
bound (chelated) by ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the central high energy compound
of the body. ATP without Mg2+ bound to it cannot create the energy normally
used by specific enzymes of the body to make protein, DNA or RNA, or to transport
sodium, potassium or calcium in and out of cells, or to phosphorylate proteins
in response to hormone signals, etc. In fact, ATP without enough Mg2+ is nonfunctional
and leads to cell death," says Dr. Boyd Haley.[4]

An astonishing 40-60 percent of sudden deaths from heart attack may occur
in the complete absence of any prior artery blockage, clot formation or heart
rhythm abnormalities, most likely from spasms in the arteries caused by magnesium
deficiency.[5]
Dr. Carolyn Dean, "The Miracle of Magnesium"

For heart surgeons, magnesium is crucial for it is depleted from the blood
during CABG surgery (coronary artery bypass graft).[6] Off pump bypass surgery
has now been shown to have a high incidence of post surgical arterial spasm
triggered by hypomagnesemia. Postoperative incidence of hypomagnesemia was as
high as 89% of patients (40 out of 45 patients) in a study on the causes of
post surgical arterial spasm in Japan in 2005.

In reality there is no shortage of magnesium and there is no reason in the
world to pay $400 for 25 small vials for injection purposes. Under Europe is
a 250-million-year-old sea that was trapped and it has a 200-year supply of
the purest magnesium chloride (less toxic than sulfate and more absorbable and
retainable) and companies around the world sell it under the name of Magnesium
Oil. A doctor or hospital can buy a half-gallon of it for around $50 and that
would be equivalent to probably 100 vials.

USP grade magnesium chloride can be safely used for all forms of magnesium
administration: intravenous (IV), intramuscular injection, oral, nebulization
as well as transdermal applications. Hospitals still have not awakened to the
fact that the best way of administering magnesium on a regular basis is transdermally
(topically). They should be training their nurses to massage their patients
with it combining a world class medicine with tender touch and care. Hospice
centers also are completely missing the boat and are under-treating their patients
because they have not studied Transdermal Magnesium Therapy.

Dr. Sarah Myhill states, "I have never had a patient die following an MI (myocardial
infarction) treated with I.V. magnesium."

Once there is an active heart problem the importance of magnesium actually
increases considerably. This has actually been noted in medical research since
the 1950s.
Christopher Barr

Drugs on the list in short supply are commonly used to treat cardiac arrhythmia,
which means that the magnesium is needed now more than ever. Magnesium deficiency
induces atrial fibrillation, which is a quivering of the heart's atria muscle
instead of a strong contraction. Magnesium appears to have inherent antiarrhythmic
properties.[7]

The FDA warning on the atrial fibrillation drug Multaq is a case in point
about heart medicines.[8] The FDA halted trials of Multaq after issuing these
successive warnings:

Early in 2010 the FDA warned of possible signals of congestive heart failure
when using Multaq.

On Feb. 22, 2011 the FDA revised the warning section of the Multaq label
to note cases of worsening heart failure in some patients taking the drug.

The FDA soon issued warnings of possible signals linking Multaq to a form
of heart arrhythmia called torsade de pointes.

Finally Multaq is linked to liver failure and deaths.[9]

So why were they using this drug, Multaq, at all, putting people at great
risk, when there is clear evidence that magnesium will safely alleviate most
intermittent atrial tachyarrhythmias?

Magnesium has been studied in the early conversion and prevention of atrial
tachyarrhythmias, as well as in prevention of atrial tachyarrhythmias occurring
after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Early conversion of atrial tachyarrhythmias
and control of heart rate is potentially much greater with magnesium than with
common antiarrhythmic agents.[10]

Transdermal magnesium can be applied (at home or in a clinic/spa) everywhere
at once for dramatic and sometimes instant systemic effect. Magnesium is the
single most important mineral for maintaining proper electrical balance and
facilitating smooth metabolism in the cells, so during a heart attack or stroke
it's best to administer it immediately. This is more than useful if one is waiting
for the ambulance. Patients at home can simply apply magnesium chloride solutions
to their skin for rapid absorption or they can even pour it into a tub for a
highly concentrated bath at the first sign of irregular heart rate, thereby
possibly saving a trip to the hospital.

Atrial fibrillation and flutter are the most prevalent atrial tachyarrhythmias,
afflicting nearly two million people in the United States and accounting for
400,000 hospitalizations annually.[11]

Doctor's Testimony with Early Magnesium Experiences

Dr. Tony Dajer, a contributor to Vital Signs since 1989, working in the emergency
room of New York University's Downtown Hospital, recounts his early experiences
with magnesium. (See reference for unedited full version.[12])

I knew just the right drug to calm my patient's racing heart. I just had no
proof it would work.

"Magnesium?" Winnie asked, keeping her tone as loose as an unwinding coil
of slack line. "Magnesium?"

"Yup. Magnesium," I repeated. "One grain IV."

I caught her lingering look, but Winnie and I go back six years. Once she
was sure I meant it, she produced the vial. "One grain, coming up."

Mrs. Wu, our elderly patient, had come in gasping for air. She had been shopping
with her daughter when suddenly her legs lost power and her lungs grew tight.
As soon as Mrs. Wu arrived, Winnie had put her on oxygen; now she seemed a little
better. But she still clutched her daughter's hand and kept up a steady singsong
of Cantonese: "Maybe Chinese medicine..." I imagined her saying, then the daughter
soothing, "It's the hospital. They know."

Mrs. Wu's electrocardiogram-the tracing of electrical activity in the heart-looked
like a Jackson Pollock. Instead of a smooth tracing bringing forth 80 beautifully
spaced spikes a minute, it was spitting out a rapid-fire and asynchronous 140
spikes, or heartbeats, a minute. Mrs. Wu's heart was creating a painting that
already had a title: Atrial Fibrillation.

"Okay, okay, give her the digoxin," I sighed to Winnie. She smiled consolingly.
I left the cardiac room to see other patients. Ten minutes later, she was tugging
at my sleeve.

"She converted," Winnie announced.

"Who?"

"Mrs. Wu."

"Already?" Puzzled, I said, "Boy, that digoxin worked fast." Though I knew
very well that it usually only slows the rate without making it stable.

"No," Winnie insisted. "The magnesium." Then she held up a syringe filled
with a clear solution.

"Digoxin. I haven't given it yet. It was the magnesium."

"Whoa" was the most intelligent comment I could produce.

We rushed back together. Mrs. Wu's monitor beeped contentedly at a regular
84 beats a minute. Her daughter smiled at us and placed a hand over her own
heart and said, "Much better. Not so fast now."

"And how," I thought. Now Mrs. Wu smiled and nodded quickly. A cure.

"I'll be darned," I said to Winnie.

At that moment, in a flash, as my brain shouted, "Eureka," I heard the siren
call of unscientific thinking. I had scooped even the cardiologists. I would
try magnesium on all my A-fibbers from now on. "Oh, we use it all the time,"
he informed me with a shrug.

"Know of any good studies?" I asked.

"None," he answered just as casually. "But it works." In short, Boston
doctors treat atrial fibrillation, the most common arrhythmia, differently from
their New York colleagues.

[3] Mitochondria are the little powerhouses found within most cells and are
responsible for producing most of the body's energy. Mitochondria are key for
proper neurotransmission and, for obvious reasons, are highly concentrated in
cells of the brain and central nervous system. Though scientists are just beginning
to investigate mitochondria disease we know that magnesium deficiency is telling
on mitochondria dysfunction.

[4] "Bound Mg2+ holds the triphosphate in the correct stereochemical position
so that it can interact with ATP using enzymes and the Mg2+ also polarizes the
phosphate backbone so that the 'backside of the phosphorus' is more positive
and susceptible to attack by nucleophilic agents such as hydroxide ion or other
negatively charged compounds. Bottom line, Mg2+ at critical concentrations is
essential to life. All detoxification mechanisms have as the bases of the energy
required to remove a toxicant the need for Mg-ATP to drive the process. There
is nothing done in the body that does not use energy and without Mg2+ this energy
can neither be made nor used," says Dr. Haley.

[11] Atrial fibrillation and flutter occur most commonly in men and are especially
prevalent among those aged 65-80 years. Approximately one third and one half
of patients with atrial fibrillation and flutter have heart failure or hypertension,
respectively. Symptoms of atrial fibrillation-palpitations, rapid or irregular
heartbeat, chest pain, anxiety-may be indicators of a more serious problem,
including heart attack.